Bruins 2, Blackhawks 0: Home goods

The Bruins eked out a Game 2 win in Chicago to even the Stanley Cup Final at a game apiece. They left no doubt in taking the lead in the series Monday night. The Bruins controlled the pace, chances and scoreboard in a 2-0 win over the Blackhawks in Game 3 at TD Garden to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

By Dan Cagen/Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

By Dan Cagen/Daily News staff

Posted Jun. 18, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 18, 2013 at 6:03 PM

By Dan Cagen/Daily News staff

Posted Jun. 18, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 18, 2013 at 6:03 PM

BOSTON

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The Bruins eked out a Game 2 win in Chicago to even the Stanley Cup Final at a game apiece.

They left no doubt in taking the lead in the series Monday night.

The Bruins controlled the pace, chances and scoreboard in a 2-0 win over the Blackhawks in Game 3 at TD Garden to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Game 4 is Wednesday night, and the Bruins will look to hit the repeat button to take a commanding 3-1 lead.

The Bruins played with emotion and consistency defensively. They held the Blackhawks to just 27 shots on goal. Tuukka Rask picked up his third shutout in seven games.

"I think the energy in the game, the effort," coach Claude Julien said of what made the difference for the Bruins. "You see ours, they’re back-checking, having layers, so when somebody makes a mistake you have somebody covering up. We’re blocking a lot of shots.

"The commitment is totally there."

The Blackhawks have scored just four goals in three games in the Final. They have one goal in 133:48 over the last two games and just 41 shots on Rask in 113:48 since the end of the first period of Game 2.

Daniel Paille and Patrice Bergeron scored in the second period to give the Bruins the lead. Until a frantic final minute, the Blackhawks never threatened to pull closer. They had 10 shots in the last 20 minutes, far fewer than expected from a powerful offense that needed to push.

When Chicago did get a chance, Rask stopped it, directed it to a friend in black and it was off the other way.

"I thought today was pretty good (on rebound control)," Rask said. "They shot high off the wing. I was able to just catch a lot of them with my glove. A few loose pucks were hanging around there and our D or forwards took care of that. It helps when we get the puck quick and move it forward."

Paille — who made the Bruins’ plane ride home from Illinois a happy one with his Game 2 overtime goal — contributed to both Boston scores. The reconfigured third line of Paille, Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin has scored the Bruins’ last three even-strength goals.

Just over two minutes into the second period, Paille pinched down to take away a Chicago pass around the boards on the left half-wall. Paille set up Seguin for a wrister, but it was deflected into the corner.

Kelly went hard after the rebound and won the battle. He hit Paille as he was curling back in front. Without much net to shoot at, Paille beat goalie Corey Crawford (33 saves) for a 1-0 lead at 2:13 of the second.

"It was a great shot," Kelly said. "I think he beat him short-side on the glove. It was him reading the play and letting it go quick."

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At the end of a Boston power play late in the period, Paille drew a trip on Niklas Hjalmarsson when he hustled into the offensive zone and forced Hjalmarsson to take him down as he broke in on Crawford.

Hjalmarsson joined Dave Bolland — who had cross-checked Kelly when the center hustled up ice — in the box and the Bruins had 11 seconds of 5-on-3 time.

Jaromir Jagr took a Zdeno Chara pass below the right circle and passed through the crease to Patrice Bergeron, who beat Crawford before the goalie could recover for a 2-0 lead.

It was the kind of skilled play that the Bruins brought Jagr, who still has no postseason goals, in from Dallas for. Jagr has eight playoff assists.

"It was a great pass," Bergeron said. "I was expecting the puck to come, but it was a perfect play. I had to kind of settle it down a bit. It was a hard pass, it was a great pass and I just had to put it in."

In addition to the goal, Bergeron won 24 of 28 faceoffs.

Chicago was hurt Monday night by the absence of big scoring winger Marian Hossa, who took part in warmups but didn’t play. It forced center Jonathan Toews — already in a slump — to start the game with grinders Marcus Kruger and Michael Frolik on his wings.

The Blackhawks have also gotten nothing out of Bryan Bickell, who starred in the Western Conference playoffs and looked like he would add a lot of zeroes as a free agent next month. The big forward has been a big zero in the Final.

Late in the first period, Brad Marchand broke loose for a breakaway. As he approached Crawford, the puck slid off his blade into the corner and Marchand didn’t get a shot off. His stick was the biggest victim; he smashed it into two over the boards as he came back to the bench.

It was a frustrating moment for the winger. The Blackhawks can relate.

Dan Cagen can be reached at 508-626-3848 or dcagen@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanCagen.